A Krazy 1979 Ford Thunderbird

This musician's lowrider has a sweet melody of its own

Very few people understand the long days and nights required to create these rolling masterpieces we call lowriders. But for the owner of this 1979 Ford Thunderbird, he’s all too familiar with the program. As a musician, Juan Rodriguez is used to spending the wee hours of the morning entertaining people as member of Groupo Armado, a band that specializes in playing norteno and corridos—songs that depict tales of Mexican folklore.

Yet Juan’s passion for storytelling through music is one that he hopes will happen with his car. He hopes one day that people will share stories about his contribution to the Lowrider community but understands from the get-go that to be remembered you have to build something people will talk about. With that in mind, Juan set out to buy a 1979 Thunderbird from his uncle, who at first was not too eager to let it go. After some back and forth negotiation, the T-bird would eventually find itself a new home and he was intent to make a name for not only his car but himself.

While the to-do list for his build spans several pages, it was the paintjob that became the heart and soul of this build. For that, Juan mentioned there was only one person who could take on such a task, longtime friend Pete of Krazy Kustoms. He would apply the multi-layered paint scheme comprised of various House of Kolor magenta, pink, and purple candies. With additional layers of flake and pearls, eventually it would be brought all together by an endless amount of pinstriping. For the interior, his daughters, Emmery and Jueli, picked out the colors and with pink and purple being their favorites, it was a match made in lowrider heaven. The seats were grafted from a Lexus while a custom woodgrain steering wheel and a custom Pioneer stereo system was installed, while West Life Hydraulics installed a Hoppo’s-built hydraulic setup.

It took several years of sleepless nights to finish his ride, but with every little detail driven by dedication to the Lowrider culture, this project is finally done and certainly worthy of a corrido of its own.

1979 Ford Thunderbird

Nickname
Krazy Bird

Owner
Juan Rodriguez

Car Club
Goodtimes

City
Palmdale, CA

Upholstery
Custom Lexus seats covered on various pink leathers

Body/Paint
Krazy Kustoms layered the House of Kolor Fuchsia and Magenta colors adorned with pearls and flakes